Pneumatic insole.



B. A. SPlNNEY.

PNEUMATIC INSOLE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31.1918,

1 9 1 5 Patented May 27, 1919.

BURTON A. SPINNEY, OF DES MOINES, IOWA.

PNEUMATIC INSOLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 27, 1919.

Application filed July 31, 1918. Serial No. 247,891.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BURTON A. SPINNEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Pneumatic Insole, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a pneumatic. insole madeof resilient material, and having a plurality of partitions so arranged as to divide the interior of the insole into compartments and provided with means so arranged as to retard the movement of the air in the insole between the compartments.

A further object is to provide such an insole with partitions and the openings between the partitions being so arranged as to allow a freer movement of air beneath the ball of the foot, the instep and the heel than beneath the toes.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a horizontal, sectional view through an insole embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 shows a horizontal, sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, located in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Fi 3 shows a transverse, vertical, sectiona view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4: shows a vertical, sectional view through the valve casing and valve.

Fig. 5 shows a perspective View of the shoe equipped with an insole embodying my invention, arts being broken away to show the insta lation of the insole in the shoe; and

Fig. 6 shows a horizontal, sectional view of a portion of an insole embodying a modified form of my invention.

In the accompanying drawings I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate generally a shoe.

Mounted in the bottom of the shoe is my improved insole, which comprises a substantially flat sack or the like 11 preferably made of rubber and having generally the contour or outline of the bottom of the foot and the bottom of a shoe.

The insole is divided into a plurality of compartments, which are formed by means of transverse partitions 12 of resilient material such as rubber in the rear part of the insole.

The portion of the insole which rests beneath the foot is preferably divided into a plurality of compartments by longitudinally arranged partitions 13.

The compartments between the partitions 12 are connected by means of small openings 14 in the partition 12.

The compartments under the toes are connected with the other compartments by means of small openings 14:, or with each other by openings 15 similar to the openings 14.

The insole is provided with a portion swelled upwardly and designed to fit under the instep as at A in Figs. 2 and 3.

Extending through the wall of the insole portion at the lower part of the side thereof at the portion which fits under the instep is a valve casing 16, which, just outside the insole, has a right-angled extension 17 lying along the side of the insole, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

In the extension 17 of the valve casing 1-6 near the outer end thereof is a valve seat 18.

Arranged to coact with the valve seat 18 is a valve 19 which has a stem 20 projecting out of the extension 17 and also projecting inwardly in the extension 17 and secured to a supporting member 21.

On the inner part of the valve stem 20 between the support 21 and the valve is a coil spring 22. The spring 22 normally holds the valve closed as does the pressure of the air in the insole againstthe back of the valve.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a modified form ofmy improved insole comprising the member 11, which has a series of transverse partitions 23. The partitions 23 under the ball of the foot and heel thereof are farther apart than the partitions under the toes, and the compartments formed by the partitions are connected by openings 24, so that there will be a freer movement of air underneath the ball and heel of the foot than underneath the toes.

I have found in experimenting with insoles of the kind herein described, that it is desirable to secure a freer movement of the air beneath the heel and ball of the foot than beneath the toes, and I have also found that it is highly desirable to divide the insole into compartments so that the movement of air is somewhat slowed down by making the small openings between the compartments.

The insole can be filled with air in an suitable way.

The insole is preferably covered with cloth 25 above and below the insole, so that the ru'bber of the bag portion 11 does not contact directly with the sole of the shoe or with the stocking.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my improved device without departing from the essential features and purposes thereof, and it is my intention to cover by my application, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, which, may be reasonably included within the scope of my claim.

I clalm as my invention:

A resilient insole comprising a resilient sack having generally the outline of the bottom of a foot, said sack havin a plurality of transverse partitions for dividing the portion of the insole which supports the heel and ball of the foot into narrow transverse compartments, said sack having in its portion which supports the toes longitudinally arranged partitions for forming longitudinally arranged compartments beneath the toes, the various compartments being connected by means of small openings in the partitions, whereby retarded movement of the air between the compartments is permitted.

Des Moines, Iowa, July 3, 1918.

BURTON'A. SPINNEY. 

